Vintage

Sprint Car Racing’s Month of Money Kicks Off in Ohio for Tony Stewart Racing

 INDIANAPOLIS (July 13, 2010) – The schedule shows another three-race week for the World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Car Series. But everyone who follows and competes in the sport knows this week isn’t just another week. It’s the start of Sprint car racing’s annual “Month of Money,” and the stakes each night rise with extra money on the line. Tony Stewart Racing’s (TSR) Steve Kinser and Donny Schatz look at this point of the season as a time to get greedy.

Each has pocketed a lot of cash during past July and August Sprint car races, and both are eyeing more of that coveted green. The fun begins with Wednesday’s 22^nd annual Brad Doty Classic at Limaland Motorsports Park in Lima, Ohio, and continues at Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, on Friday and Saturday night. Eldora hosts its 27^th annual Kings Royal weekend, culminating with a 40-lap A-Feature that pays $50,000 to the winner on Saturday night.

RUN THROUGH MIDWEST NOT QUITE AS PRODUCTIVE AS HOPED

New Richmond, Wis. (July 11) - The past few weeks have seen consistency from Donny Schatz and the Tony Stewart Racing team, but not the results the four-time and reigning World of Outlaws champion was hoping for. Schatz continued the 2010 campaign this past weekend with three events staring Thursday at LaSalle Speedway and concluding Sunday at Cedar Lake Speedway in Wisconsin.

Water was the key during these past three races. Not the kind you have while standing in victory lane after a hard fought race, but instead the kind that makes a racetrack ultimately too fast for good Sprint car racing. Speed is certainly the name of the game in racing, but when too much water is involved racing becomes more of the luck of the draw rather than the skill of the driver in the car and guys that work on them.

SCHATZ CLOSES WEEK WITH SECOND IN BRAINERD

BRAINERD, Minn (July 4) - Donny Schatz was oh so close to picking up win number three on the 2010 World of Outlaws campaign on Saturday night. Schatz raced the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) No. 15 Armor All/STP ParkerStore J&J inside of leader Jason Meyers late in the 35-lap A-Feature at North Central Speedway in Brainerd, Minn., but couldn't quite make the winning pass.

"It doesn't seem like we are winning too many, but we had an awesome car," said Schatz. "I can't thank my guys (Rick Warner, Shane Bowers and Steve Swenson) enough. They just keep plugging away and every night they keep giving me something even better than the night before. I probably left a few laps out there and didn't get aggressive enough at the right times."

SCHATZ MOVES TO FOURTH AFTER WOO WEEKEND ACTION

KANSAS CITY, KS (June 27) - The numbers haven't exactly been what Donny Schatz and the Tony Stewart Racing No. 15 Armor All/STP/ParkerStore crew were looking for in 2010. When the season began with a victory in Florida, the hope was that it was a sign of things to come for the four-time and reigning World of Outlaws champion. The fact is that the first half of the season has been a frustrating one for the Fargo, N.D., resident, but the silver lining is that there is still time to make a charge towards a fifth consecutive title.

This past weekend, Schatz raced to a third place finish on Friday night in the Outlaws debut at Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Neb., and came home sixth on Saturday night at Lakeside Speedway near Kansas City. Those results show more consistency and make it four straight top-seven runs, including a pair of podium finishes. He found himself more 215 points out of first recently, but heading into Tuesday's make-up event at Sedalia's State Fair Speedway, he has climbed back to fourth and 193 out of first. A tough task, but also one that a four-time champion looks at with a positive outlook.

"We've gotten better," admitted Schatz. "The numbers aren't there. The wins aren't there, but the work is there. The guys on this time are continuing to tweak our program. We've had some things happen early this year that haven't in years past. We understand things happen, but our attention is now on being the best we can through the month of July and August. After that we'll see where we are and try to finish strong."

Schatz will return to action on Tuesday night at the half-mile dirt oval in Sedalia, Mo. The event was originally scheduled for July 16. Qualifying was completed on that night with Schatz pacing the field, but when Mother Nature interrupted the action, the event was rescheduled and start completely over on Tuesday. Following Tuesday's race, the team will compete at Huset's Speedway in South Dakota and North Central Speedway in Minnesota.